Verbal agreements are in place for the new matchup, but bout agreements have yet to be distributed. UFC officials have yet to make an announcement regarding the switch or Kruth’s retirement.

UFC 154 takes place on Nov. 17 at Montreal’s Bell Centre. While not officially announced, a welterweight title-unification bout between champion Georges St-Pierre and interim titleholder Carlos Condit is expected to headline the show.

The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Kruth signed with the UFC earlier this year to compete at UFC on FUEL TV 2 in Stockholm, but he ultimately scratched due to an injury. The Swedish striker today told Swedish outlet Expressen (as translated by Studio MMA) that his body, which has endured some 85 professional kickboxing contests

“I have been thinking for a long time,” Kruth said. “However, I feel it’s time now. I neither have the motivation or focus and my body doesn’t respond anymore. I’m not getting the results that I want.”

Maldonado, a Brazilian fighter, likely finds himself in a must-win situation. The fighter knocked out James McSweeney in his promotional debut for his 11th straight win (and 12th knockout in 18 career victories). However, he’s since suffered back-to-back decision losses to Kyle Kingsbury and Igor Pokrajac.

Meanwhile, Diabate looks for his first two-fight win streak in the octagon after earning a majority decision over Tom DeBlass (who replaced Kruth on that fight card) at UFC on FUEL TV 2. Diabate made his UFC debut in May 2010 with a win over Luiz Cane and has since alternated wins and losses over a span of five fights.

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